


Abruption

by curly184



Series: From Recognition to Realisation [4]
Category: Band of Brothers (TV 2001)
Genre: Afghanistan, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:41:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29535597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curly184/pseuds/curly184
Summary: Eugene had suffered more damage in Afghanistan than anyone could see.  And Ron is going back for more.
Relationships: Eugene Roe/Ronald Speirs
Series: From Recognition to Realisation [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2169870
Kudos: 7





	Abruption

Aside from the occasional text message, Ron doesn't hear from or see Eugene at all. He gives it a week, before he spends an evening sitting on the floor outside Eugene’s apartment, waiting for him to come home. It's after midnight when an exhausted looking Eugene climbs the stairs to the fifth floor. He stops dead when he sees Ron sitting on the floor outside his front door.

“Hey,” Ron says, closing the paperback novel he's been reading and getting to his feet.

“Ron. Wh- what are you doing here?” Eugene asks, surprise and worry colouring his tone.

“I thought we could talk, thought maybe you could tell me what’s going on.”

“Nothing’s going on. I've just been busy at the hospital –”

“Bullshit, Eugene," Ron cuts him off. Long shifts, night shifts, busy weeks and stress about sick patients have never stopped Eugene from slipping into Ron’s apartment and into his bed late at night; have never stopped Eugene replying to text messages at inconvenient hours - have rarely stopped phone calls at inconvenient hours. Ron knows it, and Eugene knows he knows it.

Eugene sighs and unlocks the door to his apartment. He goes inside without saying a word to Ron but briefly holds the door open behind him. Ron gets the message to follow. Ron sits on a stool the kitchen counter, Eugene stands across from him. Tense. Hands shoved deep into the pockets of faded jeans hanging loosely from his hips.

“Out with it, Eugene.”

“You're going back.”

It takes Ron a moment to follow, “yeah I'm going back. I have orders.”

“I can’t - you're going back. I can’t –“

“I don’t understand, you can’t what?”

“I can't do this,” he gestures briefly between them and Ron feels his stomach drop like it does before a jump. Only worse somehow. He schools his features and waits for Eugene to continue.

“You’re going back to my hell on earth. I can barely close my eyes without being back there; seeing what I saw there.”

“Eugene – ” Ron begins, climbing off the stool to move towards him.

Eugene shakes his head and pushes on, “I know my nightmares aren’t real, I _know_ that. But they feel real. And I can’t have you be part of them.” Ron watches as Eugene swallows thickly, trying, and failing, to keep his emotions under control. “I know you have to go but I can’t be here scared that it’s you being brought into a field hospital half blown to hell,” he finishes softly. His eyes are filled with tears and Ron’s heart breaks for him. He’d do anything to make it better, to help Eugene. But he realises that he’s the person who is only going to make it worse. Eugene had suffered more damage in Afghanistan than anyone could see. And Ron is going back for more.

“Okay,' Ron says, his own eyes filling with hot tears, ”okay, Eugene.”

He stands stupidly in front of Eugene, wanting to hug him. He wants to feel the warm weight of him in his arms; he wants to offer comfort, and wants to be comforted in return.

“I’m sorry, Ron,” Eugene whispers, his voice rough and broken.

“Yeah, me too,” Ron says finally as he turns to walk out of Eugene’s apartment and down the stairs to his own. It feels bigger, emptier, lonelier now.


End file.
